Cutaneous wounds represent a major cause of morbidity in diabetics. Every year, 2-3% of diabetics will develop foot ulcers. The lifetime probability of development of a diabetic foot ulcer is between 10 and 15%. In wound injuries that result in limb amputation, up to 90% began with a foot ulcer.
In addition, burn injury is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, with approximately 100,000 cases of moderate to severe burn injuries requiring hospitalization and 5000 patients dying of burn-related complications each year (Church et al., Clin Microbiol Rev., 19(2):403-34 (2006)).
Reduction of the healing time for cutaneous wounds is highly desirable, as this can reduce the chances of infection and other complications. However, healing of cutaneous injuries is a complex process and can be slowed or interrupted by a variety of other factors, including diabetes, venous or arterial disease, old age, and infection, leading to chronic wounds.